Barely has Saracens star Alex Goode got over his post Heineken European Champions Cup-winning bender and this week sees the draw for next season’s competition.
Goode was part of a Saracens team that swept to European and domestic silverware, and his celebrations after both wins, etched his name into rugby folklore.
Saracens and Wales’ only representatives in the Champions Cup next season, the Ospreys, will learn their fate in the 2019-20 competition when 20 clubs go into the hat for the draw at the Theatre de Beaulieu, Lausanne, Switzerland.
With the European Challenge Cup draw also taking place we explain how the draw will work and give you the best and worst case scenarios.
European Champions Cup seedings
Tier One
The champions of the Premiership, Top14 and PRO14, plus two of the runners-up in those competitions. Teams will be drawn at random prior to the official draw.
Saracens, Leinster and Toulouse plus two from Exeter Chiefs/Glasgow Warriors/Clermont Auvergne.
Tier Two
The third-ranked teams in the leagues, plus the runners-up not drawn in Tier One and the fourth-ranked club from the same league as that runner-up.
Gloucester, Munster, Lyon plus Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints/Glasgow Warriors and Ulster/Clermont Auvergne and La Rochelle.
Tier Three
The three fifth-ranked clubs plus the two fourth-ranked clubs not in Tier Two.
Harlequins, Connacht, Racing 92 plus two from Northampton Saints, Ulster and La Rochelle.
Tier Four
The three sixth-ranked teams and the two extra qualifiers from the Premiership and PRO14.
Bath, Benetton, Montpellier, Sale Sharks, Ospreys.
The draw
There will be five pools containing one team from each seeding tier.
The draw is done tier by tier, with numbers drawn after each club is announced to determine which pool they are placed in.
There will be pools they cannot be drawn in, however, as there are a number of rules;
- No two teams from the same seeding tier can be in the same pool
- No teams from the same league can be drawn against each other until the draw reaches Tier Four
- Each pool must have at least one team from the Premiership, Top14 and PRO14
- No pool can contain two PRO14 teams from the same country
- There will be no more than two clubs from the same league in a pool
- Every team in a pool will play each other home and away.
The five pool winners and three best runners-up will progress to the quarter-final knockout stage.
The toughest pool for the Ospreys?
Saracens, Clermont Auvergne, Ulster, Ospreys.
Serial silverware winners Saracens are not letting their dynasty in north London break up any time soon, adding England and Lions star Elliot Daly to their star-studded roster next season.
Clermont were runners-up in the Top14, won the European Challenge Cup last season and have one on the most intimidating stadiums in the European game - the Stade Marcel-Michelin - as a 16th man.
The same can be said of the Kingspan Stadium, in Belfast, and if Clermont don’t come out of the hat against the Ospreys, La Rochelle are awaiting in pot three.
The easiest pool for the Ospreys?
Exeter Chiefs, Lyon, Connacht, Ospreys.
Despite the Chiefs adding Scottish talisman Stuart Hogg to their ranks for next season, their record in Europe remains lamentable.
Lyon would be the best French option from a pot two that could feature Top14 foes Clermont and La Rochelle while Connacht would be familiar faces among the third seeds.
European Challenge Cup
This will be generating a bit more Welsh interest than usual will the Scarlets, Blues and Dragons all competing in the second-string tournament.
With only the Scarlets sure of their seeding for the draw, here are the toughest and easiest possible draws for our three regions.
The draw and seedings
The 20 clubs that have qualified on merit from the Top14, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, the Guinness PRO14, the PRO D2, the Greene King IPA Championship and the Continental Shield will compete in five pools of four
The clubs are divided into four tiers based on the qualification positions from their respective leagues, with the Continental Shield qualifiers in Tier Four.
Each of the five pools will include one club from each of the four tiers
Each pool will have at least one club from the Top14, the Premiership and the PRO14
There will be no more than two clubs from the same league in a pool
No pool will contain two PRO14 clubs from the same country
Clubs from the same league will be kept apart until the Tier Four allocation
A qualifier from the Continental Shield cannot be drawn into a pool which contains two Top14 clubs or two Premiership clubs
Tier One
The three No.1 ranked clubs from the Top14, Gallagher Premiership and Guinness PRO14 plus two of the second-ranked sides.
Castres, Wasps, Scarlets plus two from Stade Francais/Cardiff Blues/Bristol Bears.
Tier Two
The three third-ranked clubs will be joined by the one remaining second-ranked side not in Tier One, and by a fourth-ranked club from the same league as the club not drawn in Tier One.
Toulon, Worcester Warriors, Edinburgh, one from Stade Francais/Cardiff Blues/Bristol Bears and one from Bordeaux-Begles/Leicester Tigers/Dragons.
Tier Three
This will include two clubs ranked fourth not in Tier Two and three clubs ranked fifth from each league.
Pau, London Irish, Zebre, plus two from Bordeaux Begles/Leicester Tigers/Dragons.
Tier Four
The remaining clubs from the Top 14 and the two qualifiers from the Continental Shield.
Agen, Bayonne, Brive, Enisei-STM, Calvisano.
Toughest pool for the Scarlets
Scarlets, Toulon, Leicester Tigers, Agen.
Toulon and Leicester Tigers may not be the European force they once were, hence them missing out on the Champions Cup, but they would still provide still competition for the Scarlets, as would Agen.
Easiest pool for the Scarlets
Scarlets, Worcester Warriors, Pau, Enisei-STM.
The Warriors have lost some key men for next season with Wales wing Josh Adams and England centre Ben Te'o among the eight heading through the Sixways exit door.
Pau are among the French clubs who don't always make Europe a priority while Russian outfit Enisei may provide some travel nightmares, but on the field, they're one of the easier European opponents.
Toughest pool for the Blues
Castres, Blues, Leicester Tigers, Agen.
Castres just missed out on Champions Cup qualification while any pool withy two Top14 clubs in usually translates to a bit of a tough slog.
Easiest pool for the Blues
Blues, Worcester Warriors, Pau, Enisei-STM.
Like the Scarlets, this is the best scenario possible if the Blues get pulled out of the bag as a top seeded club.
Toughest pool for the Dragons
Wasps, Toulon, Dragons, Agen.
Dai Young's Wasps may be going through some rebuilding next season having lost key men like Saracens-bound Daly, Nathan Hughes, who is joining Bristol and Springboks star Wille le Roux, who is off to Japan, but they remain a threat in Europe.
And a trip to Toulon could well give new Rodney Parade boss Dean Ryan plenty to ponder in his first season in charge of the region.
Easiest pool for the Dragons
Bristol Bears, Dragons, Pau, Einsei-STM.
Travel wise, a trip to Ashton Gate, Bristol would be easier than some PRO14 regional derbies and would make up for plane journeys to France and Russia.
EPCR weekends
Round One: 15/16/17 November; Round Two: 22/23/24 November; Round Three: 6/7/8 December; Round Four: 13/14/15 December; Round Five: 10/11/12 January; Round Six: 17/18/19 January.
Quarter-finals: 3/4/5 April; Semi-finals: 1/2/3 May.
Challenge Cup final: Friday, May 22 (Stade de Marseille)
Heineken Champions Cup final: Saturday, May 23 (Stade de Marseille).
